I have long been a critic of the faux judges on television who turn criminal justice into a form of caricatured entertainment. Now, “Judge” Greg Mathis is opening his own video game to compete with such games as Grand Theft Auto. His game includes such fun risks as prison rape.

Mathis says that he likes to play Grand Theft Auto IV with his kids but thought that the world needed something more gritty and gripping. Thus, he teamed up with Hollywood filmmaker Matty Rich to produce the new game. Rich heralds Mathis’ ” impeccable reputation” but fails to note where he found it.

Kids get to play the life of convicted felon La-Ron Washington, who has just been released from prison early due to overcrowding but has two strikes on his record. Fun.

Mathis explains that “The main difference between our game and Grand Theft Auto is that players will have to deal with the justice system and consequences for their actions . . . When you go to prison, you gain credibility when you come back on the streets. On the other hand, when you go to prison you can also be raped. So take your chances. We may see young people who make the wrong choice and go to prison and are assaulted repeatedly (in this game).”
Mathis views these games (long criticized for gruesome violence) as an important educational and socializing tool: “I see this game as a way for young players to be part of the glamorous thug life that is so popular in the hip-hop culture without them actually indulging in the life . . . Video games allow you to obtain the fulfillment of their fascination with that lifestyle without being in it. We’re not going to stop the violent genre of video games like Grand Theft Auto, so instead you try to engage it in a way that allows them to obtain the fulfillment they’re looking for but also give them the choice of going the mainstream successful life.”

Rich follows suit with the most transparent excuse: “Play with games, not with guns.” He forgot the original version, “play with games, pay us.”

The new game is called “Mathis “Detroit” Street Judge.” Next game theme: a fake judge and soulless Hollywood producer prowl the inner cities to take money from kids by coming up with different scams claiming that they are educating kids through violence.

Ironically Professor Turley, GTA IV , the latest Grand Theft Auto game, creates a caricature of these tv judges on one of the in-game radio stations. Quoting from the Wikipedia article, “Program: Just or Unjust
Host: Judge Grady (Michael Leon Wooley)
Topics: A radio court show. The show’s star, Judge Grady, is extremely misogynistic, and is constantly seen insulting and hitting on his female guests. At the end of each show, rather than the judge deciding who is right, the plaintiff and the defendant take part in a game to see who wins the trial. Games include duels, gladiatorial combat with lions, and glass-eating contests.”

My wife, who’s only other real sign of questionable intellect is her marriage to me, is a big fan of these judge shows. I can only watch them for about 5 second at at time and have tried to convince her that, with the exception of the original beloved Wapner, everyone of these judges must have been loathed by whatever bar appeared before them.

I waiting for ESPN15 to start regular braodcasts of dog and cock fights.

Judge Mathis’ explanation for the social importance of his new game is patently absurd. It would have been much more intellectually honest for him to explain that the game was developed to cash in on the phony TV judge phenomenon and make a s**tload of money in the process.

It seems Judge Mathis may be connecting with his own criminal past. While his is a remarkable story of persistence in overcoming social obstacles, his checkered past, which apparently includes firing weapons at Detroit Police from his bedroom window as they patrolled his neighborhood, has apparently blinded his judgment in promoting this game. Too often we see TV lawyers & their counterpart, the faux judge, selling themselves (and in the process their integrity) to garner the big bucks. We criticize street walkers for this, why stop there?

I wonder if a or the cause of a spike in Juvenile Crimes is because of GTA or Grand Theft Auto. This is a bad, bad, game.

When I was growing up, we only had nickle pinball. Not an interactive life style to Hurt, Kill and Main people that go in our way of life.

I could play pinball and then leave the game. Sometimes I even left with credits to be used. You tell me. I think that any life that glamorizes crime as a way of life is going to lead to more problems. I may not be to bright but what can I say. Judge you are a disgrace to the Bar.

I think this fits here:
Television could perform a great service in mass education, but there’s no indication its sponsors have anything like this on their minds. – Tallulah Bankhead (1903–1968), U.S. actress. Tallulah, ch. 1 (1952)